[Expired]What Are the Differences Between Delta SkyMiles and MQMs?

Update: Delta MQMs are no longer used as of 2024.

After your Delta flight, you’ve likely noticed that your account has been credited with both Delta SkyMiles and Medallion Qualifying Miles — also known as MQMs.

If you’ve recently started your points and miles journey, you might be wondering what the difference is between the two. In short, Delta SkyMiles is the rewards currency you earn and spend to book award flights on Delta and its partners, while MQMs help you earn elite status with Delta but cannot be redeemed for flights.

Here’s a full breakdown of the two, along with some tips on how you can earn more.

What Are Delta SkyMiles?

When you hear someone refer to Delta miles, they most likely are talking about the SkyMiles frequent flyer program’s currency that allows you to book award tickets.

The primary way to earn SkyMiles is by flying with Delta or its partner airlines, where you’ll earn anywhere from 5x miles to 11x miles per $1 spent on your flight — though these rates can vary on partner airlines.

Once you’ve earned Delta SkyMiles, you can redeem them for award tickets. One of our favorite ways to redeem Delta SkyMiles is during the airline’s flash sales where you can score award tickets at a steep discount on what is usually charged.

How To Earn Delta SkyMiles

The easiest way to earn extra SkyMiles on your flights — and on everyday purchases — is by paying with a co-branded Delta card. Here’s a look at how they can help you earn more miles per $1 spent:

Deciding which card is best for you will largely come down to what you spend the most on, what annual fee you are comfortable paying, and what other benefits you’re looking for in the card.

For example, the Delta Platinum card is better suited for everyday point earning, but the Delta Reserve card also offers benefits like airport lounge access, complimentary upgrades, and more.

Hot Tip: Aside from using a Delta credit card, there are tons of other great ways to earn Delta SkyMiles, like the SkyMiles Shopping portal, the SkyMiles Dining program, and more.   

What Are Delta MQMs?

While you’ll also earn MQMs on your Delta flights, they’re the complete opposite of SkyMiles. MQMs cannot be used to book flights, and the only purpose they serve is to help you qualify for Delta elite status. The key to differentiating them is in the name — Medallion Qualifying Miles.

Unlike SkyMiles, which are revenue based, you’ll usually earn 1 MQM per mile flown, but premium cabin tickets earn MQMs at a higher rate. This means if you book a Main Cabin flight on Delta from New York City to Miami, a flight distance of 1,089 miles, you should earn 1,089 MQMs — no matter what the cash cost of the ticket is.

How To Earn Delta Elite Status

Since MQMs are purely for helping you achieve Delta elite status, here’s how many MQMs you will need to qualify for each level of Delta elite status:

Remember that Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQMs) are earned based on your distance flown, while you earn 1 Medallion Qualifying Segment (MQSs) for each individual flight taken, regardless of its distance. Given that, most flyers will find it much easier to qualify based on MQMs than MQSs unless you take a large number of short-haul flights throughout the year.

Keep in mind that at each status tier, you will also need to meet the Medallion Qualifying Dollar (MQDs) benchmark, or earn an MQD waiver via qualifying spend on your Delta credit card.

Hot Tip: For more details on Delta Medallion elite status and the benefits it offers, read through our complete guide to Delta elite status.

How To Earn More MQMs

Fortunately, just as you can use Delta credit cards to earn extra SkyMiles, you can also use them to earn extra MQMs thanks to the Status Boost feature on select cards.

Those with the Delta Platinum card or Delta SkyMiles^® Platinum Business American Express Card can earn 10,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) after spending $25,000 in purchases on your card in a calendar year, up to 2 times per year.

While those with the Delta Reserve card or Delta SkyMiles^® Reserve Business American Express Card can earn 15,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) after spending $30,000 on purchases on your card in a calendar year, up to 4 times per year. That means you could earn up to 60,000 MQMs each year from one of these cards, in addition to all of the SkyMiles you’d earn for the spend as well.

Final Thoughts

For most travelers, Delta SkyMiles are what you’ll be most concerned with, as you’ll use them for redeeming award tickets on Delta and its partners. MQMs, on the other hand, are only useful to you if you are working to qualify for Delta elite status.